Lazio, an aerospace hub: the Aerospace Buyer-Supplier Meeting brings together 150 companies to foster innovation and collaboration

Lazio, the only Italian region to host the entire aerospace and defence supply chain, is preparing to bring together the key players in one of the country’s most strategic sectors for the economy and innovation. Tomorrow, 14 July, the Spazio Attivo Tecnopolo Tiburtino in Rome will host the Aerospace Buyer-Supplier Meeting, organised by the Lazio Aerospace and Defence Business Network (RIAL) as part of the Lazio ERDF Programme 2021–2027, in collaboration with LazioInnova.

The aerospace sector in Lazio comprises around 250 companies, ranging from large groups to small and medium-sized enterprises and innovative start-ups. It employs 23,500 people, generates an annual turnover of over 5 billion euros – of which 1.6 billion comes from exports – and can draw on a research system comprising 10 research organisations, 5 universities with 4 engineering faculties, around 30 advanced university courses and over 3,000 professors, researchers and specialists.

“The figures from the Aerospace Buyer-Supplier Meeting,” explains Jacopo Recchia, president of the Lazio Aerospace and Defence Business Network (RIAL), “confirm the vitality of a sector that represents one of the areas of excellence in Lazio and across the whole country. Bringing together over 150 companies means creating the conditions for our supply chain – which already comprises around 250 firms and 23,500 employees – to grow further through new partnerships, innovation and technology transfer. Small and medium-sized enterprises are the beating heart of Lazio’s aerospace sector: they possess highly specialised skills and represent a strategic asset that must be supported, by helping them gain access to major supply chains, international markets and European programmes. RIAL was established precisely with this aim in mind: to transform a network of excellence into an increasingly integrated and competitive system, capable of seizing the opportunities offered by the new space economy and major European aerospace and defence programmes.’

An industrial and scientific heritage that is reflected in the production of components for the Ariane and Vega space launchers, satellites, radar, avionics, sensors, systems for aeroplanes and helicopters, innovative materials and space applications. Attendance figures for the event confirm the sector’s dynamism: 100 companies will take part in the morning’s public session, whilst 50 firms have already been accredited for the afternoon’s B2B meetings, dedicated to developing industrial partnerships and new business opportunities between SMEs and major players in the sector.

During the morning, key players in the sector will take the floor, including Leonardo, Telespazio, Thales Alenia Space, Airbus and Avio, who will outline the technological requirements and development prospects of the supply chain to businesses. The afternoon, meanwhile, will be dedicated to business-to-business meetings, facilitating direct contact between large corporations and SMEs with a view to establishing new industrial partnerships.